Humans are innately programmed to react and adapt to their environment, like any other animal. Reactions to different types of stressors we experience are based on our primal drive to survive in the environments we are presented with.
When humans are placed in a situation such as war, no preparatory training can eliminate the natural reactions resulting from stressful stimuli and traumatic, unpredictable events. Many military service members return home and often feel out of place. They are not as easily able to acclimate back to the lives they lived before being deployed. Everything has changed because they have been changed.
That’s where post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can take hold. The effects of PTSD on Veterans can last much longer than deployment.
In the battle many Veterans face with PTSD, a professionally trained PTSD service dog can help them manage symptoms and live a more independent life. At Northwest Battle Buddies, we pair PTSD service dogs with Veteran handlers, at no cost to the Veteran, thanks to generous donations.
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Take action to help Veterans struggling with PTSD. Make a monthly donation to Operation Never Quit to gift our growing waitlist of Veterans a life-changing PTSD service dog.
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What PTSD Feels Like to One Veteran
Rebekah Grundham, one of our incredible Battle Buddy recipients, is a Chief Petty Officer (E7), Senior Enlisted Leader, and currently active duty in the US Navy. Rebekah gave us a window into an experience that took place over eight years following her deployment. She described going to a baseball game with colleagues, and feeling overwhelmed by the large crowds of people and loud fireworks. “I almost ended up passing out,” she said.
Physically returning home from active duty does not always mean that a Veteran is returning mentally. Transitioning from this completely different structure of life back to society is a shock in itself. Veterans learned to be hypervigilant and sensitive to their environments while on active duty, putting their lives on the line to protect themselves and our country. Ultimately, the transition back to home life does not remove the trauma experienced during combat.
Rebekah is just one of over a million Veterans who will experience PTSD at some point in their life. Every Veteran will experience PTSD differently, with unique reactions and symptoms.
HOW PTSD Works in the Brain
PTSD is caused by chemical changes in the brain that remain in place after traumatic events and experiences. Specifically, a part of the brain called the amygdala which often acts as our primitive brain is responsible for our fight-or-flight response. The amygdala recognizes triggers that share cues with past trauma and functions with the intent to keep us alive. Because of this, stimuli that are present in everyday life (ie. loud noises, fast-moving objects, etc.) can reactivate the same learned stress responses from previous traumatic events.
When the amygdala is repeatedly activated, a Veteran remains in a state of high stress, which creates a strengthened response pathway that becomes the most frequented response. Post-traumatic stress changes the pathways in the brain, and these pathways are strengthened the more they are activated and reinforced, causing the common effects of PTSD on Veterans.
The Effects of PTSD on Veterans
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, common effects of PTSD on Veterans include signs and symptoms such as:
- Feeling tense, on guard, or on edge
- Having difficulty concentrating
- Having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
- Feeling irritable and having angry or aggressive outbursts
- Trouble remembering key features of a traumatic event
- Negative thoughts about oneself or the world
- Ongoing negative emotions, such as fear, anger, guilt, or shame
- Loss of interest in previous activities
- Feelings of social isolation
- Avoiding thoughts or feelings related to the traumatic event
- Flashbacks—reliving the traumatic event, including physical symptoms, such as a racing heart or sweating
PTSD can look entirely different from person to person in terms of how they cope or react when presented with a stressor. Secondary reactions for Veterans battling PTSD can include:
- Panic attacks
- Suicidal ideation
- Reactivity
The release of chemicals during these reactions has a huge impact on the brain. When triggered, a flood of cortisol, norepinephrine, and adrenaline clouds the brain and makes it difficult to feel grounded and safe. This is where the presence of a PTSD service dog can make a world of difference.
PTSD Service Dogs Help the Healing Process
It’s common for people with PTSD to use prescribed psychiatric medications to help manage their symptoms. But increasingly, some Veterans find that professionally trained PTSD service dogs can naturally redirect and diminish the influx of stress hormones – because they are intentionally trained to target them.
As a result, many of our Veteran recipients report that they have reduced or fully eliminated their use of medications. This is a tremendous accomplishment in their healing journey.
Each Battle Buddy (what we call our service dogs) receives top-tier intensive training before they are gifted to one of the many amazing American Heroes we support in their healing process. The Northwest Battle Buddies team is unique in how we use the incredible olfactory abilities of canines to hone in on the specific needs of our combat Veterans suffering from PTSD.
Beyond the chemical level, the connection formed between humans and canines can be healing in itself. Rebekkah explains the feeling she had when she met her Battle Buddy.
“The day I saw my dog, Frog, it was an instant connection,” she said. “It was unbelievable, I don’t know how to describe it. He’s a boxer mix, a rescue. But I look at that like myself. They rescued my dog to rescue me, and now we work for each other. He completely changed my life.”
These dogs have been shown to greatly diminish the symptoms and challenges our Veterans face daily, and help them rebuild the confidence, determination, and strength that they bravely devoted to our country in combat.
Support the work that goes on behind the scenes at Northwest Battle Buddies, and give back to our American Heroes battling PTSD. Make a donation, and make a difference in the lives of Veterans around the country.